


I hate everyone... but you're okay.

by FandomsUnite17



Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: High School AU, M/M, first touch birthmark soulmate, platonic soulmate au, quote birthmark soulmate, seriously guys its platonic the soulmate thing and the relationship thing are unrelated, vegetarian Logan
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-31
Updated: 2021-03-06
Packaged: 2021-03-09 05:28:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 12,470
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27309217
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FandomsUnite17/pseuds/FandomsUnite17
Summary: Virgil hates teenagers. It doesn't matter that he is one. He hates everything about teenagers. And even more, he hates being stuck with people he doesn't know. He hates being around people, and nothing was going to change that, he was sure of it! Or, he WAS sure of it... until he was forced to go on a mandatory field trip and had to share a hotel room with one of his new classmates.Virgil hated his soulmark and his soulquote. He didn't believe he would ever meet his soulmate. It was just so unlikely that he would happen to run into the one person on the entire planet that happened to be connected to him. It just wasn't reasonable to hope he would. He didn't even want a soulmate anyway... right?
Relationships: Anxiety | Virgil Sanders/Logic | Logan Sanders, Creativity | Roman "Princey" Sanders/Sleep | Remy Sanders
Comments: 4
Kudos: 42





	1. I'm too gay for high school, can I be excused?

It was only two weeks into their first year of high school and they were already off on a school field trip, which Virgil found odd. He hadn’t heard of this school doing high school field trips much at all. And unfortunately for him, he was nauseous at the very thought. They were going to be staying at a hotel in Washington D.C. for five nights and nearly five days, and he didn’t know a single person at this school. Worse yet, they were going to have two people to a room, which means he would be staying alone in a hotel room with some guy he’d never met. Oh, yeah, that was another thing; they were keeping genders together so that there wouldn’t be any guys and girls in the same rooms. They were doing this so that there wouldn’t be any… late-night funny business. Which was perfectly fine, except that he would have much rather roomed with a girl. It was easy for him to ignore girls. But guys?! Every guy in his class (that he’d seen so far at least) was gorgeous! And he got flustered and embarrassed way too easily. Worse yet, to save money, and since it was like-genders, they got single-bed rooms! So not only would he be staying with someone he didn’t know for almost five days, but he’d be sleeping in the same bed as said stranger! Who also happens to be a very attractive stranger! And the worst part was that the trip was mandatory unless you had a doctor’s note! So he couldn’t even tell them he didn’t want to and not go!  
He took a deep breath and stepped onto the bus, shaking violently and trying to keep his lunch from bailing. A young woman smiled at him and held out a ticket. “Virgil Pryce?” He nodded silently and took the ticket. “You’ll be sitting in an assigned seat with the person you’ll be rooming with once we get to the hotel.” He looked up at her and blinked, feeling panic rise in his throat. Or maybe that was bile… He managed a nod and glanced down at his ticket, then slowly began scanning the sides of the seats for the matching number.  
Please don’t be gorgeous, please don’t be gorgeous…  
When he found the number he took a deep breath and looked up slowly. His heart skipped a beat. Oh, no. The guy was absolutely stunning. He was sitting straight-backed in the seat beside the window, feet crossed, with an open book in one hand. Virgil took a deep breath and shakily sat down, dropping his small backpack on the floor between his feet. After a silent moment, he looked over and realized with a bit of relief that the guy was so engrossed in his book that he hadn’t even noticed him. Breath shaky, he dug his MP3 and earbuds out of his bag and glanced nervously at the man, and with a jolt, he realized that the underside of both arms entirely was solid grey, from under his short sleeves to his wrists, and a few odd spots of grey on his palms as well. His soulmark? That was an unusual one. Your soulmark is a grey patch in the shape of the first spot where your soulmate touches you. Virgil’s own was just as odd. His streaked on his upper arms some and then downwards, and ended in an uneven, blob-y point at his lower back. What seemed, to him, even weirder was his soul quote. That was a set of words on your right forearm, the first words your soulmate says to you. His read, “Excuse me. I don’t mean to be a bother, but do you happen to have any trash on you that I could have?” Virgil blinked hard, forcing himself to concentrate on turning his music on. He put his earbuds in and stared deliberately at the floor in the aisle. Finally, the bus started moving. This was going to be a long ride…  
It had been three hours since they left, and so far Virgil had spent the whole time with his music blaring, trying to block out the screaming chatter and laughter of the teenagers around him. More than once now he’d been hit with a wad of paper or a wrapper or something that had been thrown around, and he’d been yelled at for not throwing it to the next person. His heart was still racing from the last time that had happened. He should have just thrown it… He hated teenagers… Which was a bit paradoxical, sure, seeing as he was one, but at least he didn’t act like all the rest of them. It was like teenagers had some kind of hive-mind. They all discovered their new favorite things at the same time and they could start games without even saying anything. It was just plain old creepy. He was shaken out of his thoughts by a voice screaming, somehow louder than his music, that they were stopping for dinner. Reluctantly, he turned his music off and shoved his earbuds and MP3 player into his bag. He was actually excited that they were finally stopping for food, he was starving by now, but the thought of getting out of this bus amid a bunch of excited teenagers and waiting in a long line in a crowded building was making him nervous. “Excuse me. I don’t mean to be a bother, but do you happen to have any trash on you that I could have?”  
Virgil shook his head. He could have sworn he’d just heard someone say something right beside him. He glanced over at the man sitting next to him and blinked. “Uh, what?”  
“I’ve realized I forgot to bring something with me to act as a bookmark.”  
“Oh, uh… yeah, yeah, I got something. Just a sec.” The man must have asked him for a bookmark, that was what he missed. He dug into his bag and ripped off a piece of notepad paper. Uh, here.”  
The man smiled momentarily and took it. “Thank you. I apologize for requesting something of you first thing. That makes a terribly misguided first impression. I usually am very ahead of these kinds of things.”  
Virgil shrugged one shoulder. “It’s whatever.”  
“I’m grateful to hear that. Oh, it appears it’s our turn.”  
Virgil looked up and found a gap in the line of people filing out of the bus. He jumped into it, followed quickly by the man next to him. They slowly filed out of the bus and inside the Arby’s, the line stretching across the building to the doors. Virgil filed into the line, and with a jolt, he noticed the man that was sitting beside him slip away to sit down at an empty table in the far back corner. Was he not eating, or was he just waiting for the line to die down? Virgil shook his head. Not his problem. Fifteen minutes later, he took his order number and glanced around. He was one of the last in line, with only three people behind him, so there wasn’t a single empty table left. He really didn’t wanna have to sit with any of these people… Virgil scanned the tables once more and his gaze landed on one specific table with only one person, who was silently scrolling something on their phone. He sighed. It was the man he’d sat beside on the bus. The man he was going to be spending five days sharing a bed with… He took a deep breath and stepped over. “Uh, hi. You sitting alone for a reason, or can I…?” The man glanced up and nodded, gesturing vaguely and looking back at his phone. Nervously, Virgil sat down and dropped his bag beside him, pulling out his phone. He began nervously bouncing one leg as he stared intently at his screen, and he got so lost in distracting himself with his phone that when someone spoke he flinched.  
“Hey! We were wondering if we could join you two? You’re with the high school, right? I think you two were sitting a few rows behind us?” There were two boys standing by their table smiling down at them, each one holding their own table tent with their order number on it.  
Before Virgil could even try to come up with an answer, the guy he was sitting with on the bus nodded. “Yes, we are, and the seats are not taken.”  
“Awesome! Name’s Patton, by the way!”  
The other new boy nodded and sat down beside the guy next to Virgil on the bus. “Roman. And you two are?”  
Ugh. Virgil sighed. This was exactly what he didn’t want. The cheery, extroverted, wanna-make-friends type people… “Virgil.”  
“Logan.”  
Patton grinned and sat down next to Virgil. He seemed unreasonably excited. “Hey, where’s your number thing-y?”  
Logan looked up. “I didn’t order.”  
“Oh. Do you get motion sickness? I do too, I hafta wear these funny wrist bands whenever I’m on a long car ride.”  
“I do not.”  
Roman nudged Logan’s side. “What, then? You sick or something? Too uptight for fast food?” Roman snickered and flicked Logan’s tie.  
With a sigh, Logan straightened his tie and answered. “I simply don’t eat what this particular menu offers.”  
Patton looked over at him pitifully. “Are you gluten intolerant…?”  
“No. I am not.”  
Roman raised an eyebrow. “Then what on earth don’t you eat here?”  
Logan sighed. “If you really must know, I am vegetarian.”  
“Oh, damn.”  
Patton gasped quietly and a hand shot dramatically to his face. “Oh gosh! This is just the worst place for you! Aren’t you hungry though?”  
“I have gone without a meal many times before, I will be quite alright missing one today.” He didn’t even look away from his phone screen as he spoke.  
Patton gasped dramatically, horror plastered over his face. He quickly jumped to his feet and pulled Roman after him, away from the table. “Roman, we gotta get him something!”  
“Get him what? If he doesn’t eat meat, there’s literally nothing to get him.”  
“We could at least get him fries and a drink!”  
“Yeah… Gimme a sec.” Roman went back over to the table. “Hey, you do milk and all that, right?”  
“Yes? I don’t understand why that would be important.”  
“Whatever, later. You like rootbeer?”  
“I suppose…” He looked miserably confused.  
“Great.” He went back to Patton and dragged him towards the front counter. “Alright, you win. Let’s go.”  
Virgil stared silently at his phone screen, not actually paying any attention to what was on the screen. That was weird. That was weird, right? Was that normal teenager behavior? He wished they would decide to sit somewhere else. Not that he had anything against them in particular, he just really didn’t have the energy to be around any more people he didn’t know. Especially not noisy, excitable, cheerful people like the two of them seemed to be. Mostly, he just didn’t want to talk to anybody. And worse yet, they weren’t exactly the nicest two he’d ever met. They were crazy pushy, first of all. Why did Logan have to have a reason to not eat?! Maybe he just wasn’t hungry! And so what if he’s vegetarian?! That’s not their business!  
A few minutes later, the two other boys came back, at the same time that an employee came over with two trays. The two boys sat down and set a number tent in front of Logan, looking very proud of themselves, and the employee set down the trays in front of Virgil and Roman and then left and came back a moment later with Patton’s, collected the three number tents, and left with a smile. As soon as she had left, Logan stared at the two boys questioningly, and Patton smiled nervously. “We got you something!”  
Logan sighed. “I’m sure that was intended to be a kind gesture, but I will not eat anything containing meat.”  
“It doesn’t! Have meat, I mean. We just got you a drink and some fries. Just so you’re not starving! I felt really bad that you weren’t eating anything at all, and I didn’t want you to have to go hungry, so…”  
Logan was shocked silent. After a moment, Roman looked up from his food. “What, no thank you?”  
“Um… I don’t… What do I owe you?”  
Roman burst out laughing and laughed for a solid minute before realizing that it wasn’t a joke. “Wait, you’re serious?”  
“I am always serious.”  
Patton smiled at him. “You don’t owe us anything! We just wanted to help!”  
Logan hesitated. “But… why?”  
“Well, when you said you skip meals sometimes… I just felt so bad for you. I just wanted to help.”  
Logan looked baffled. “Why would you have any desire to help someone you don’t know? What do you gain…?”  
“Well, I guess I don’t gain anything from helping you, but it’s just the right thing to do! Doing good stuff makes me feel good I guess.”  
“I’m not sure I understand the sentiment, but… thank you.”  
Patton grinned. “Sure thing!”  
They all ate silently for a moment and then Roman spoke. “So are you two gonna be roomed together?” Virgil and Logan nodded silently. “Cool, so are we! And guess what?!”  
Logan raised an eyebrow in question and Patton grinned. “Me and Roman might be soulmates! I mean, our soul quotes add up! See?!” They both grinned and turned their right arms to show off their quotes, as if that explained everything to someone who’d just met them. Patton’s read, “Hey! You’re my roomie then? I’m Roman!”, and Roman’s read, “Looks like! I’m Patton! Oh, I’m so excited!”. “We’ve got each other’s names and everything!”  
Virgil shrugged, speaking to the two boys for the first time. “That is pretty hardcore evidence…”  
Roman nodded. “Right?! We’re just waiting to see if our marks get color!” Him and held Patton held up their fists to show matching, grey, soulmarks, covering the front of their fists as if they’d fist-bumped.  
Logan nodded thoughtfully at them. “If your soulmarks do activate, do you plan on becoming romantically acquainted or do you prefer a platonic connection?”  
Patton waved a hand. “Oh, platonic. Roman’s already got a boyfriend. Right?”  
Roman nodded proudly. “Yup. Been texting him the whole bus ride. He goes to a different school, so we gotta hang out after, but that’s not about to deter us! His name’s Remy. And damn, lemme tell you, if you’re looking for a latte or a smoothie, best guy! He’s like a master barista when it comes to anything coffee or fruity. No joke! You guys have got to meet him when we get back!”  
Patton bounced in his chair and squealed quietly. “Can I?!”  
“Yeah, dude! We go to the same school, I can set up a meetup. So, what about you two? Any love life? Soulmate?”  
They both shook their heads and spoke in perfect unison. “No.”  
Patton pouted and was about to say something when an employee came over with the order they’d gotten for Logan, collected the number tent, and left. Logan quietly thanked them again and started eating. The rest of the meal went uneventfully. Patton and Roman talked amongst themselves and Logan and Virgil remained silent until the whole class was finished and they all went back and loaded back onto the bus. As the bus pulled out, Virgil turned his music back on and Logan pulled his book back out, and for the next few hours, nothing happened. Then, about three hours after they’d left the restaurant, Virgil’s MP3 died and he was forced to put it away. He decided to get out his sketchbook instead. He was done with all of the base sketch and was working on refining it when he heard Logan speak up beside him. “Do you draw often?”  
He flinched and slammed the book shut. “U-Uhm… Uh, I… You didn’t see much of that, did you…?”  
“I haven’t been watching terribly closely, but I have been tracking the progress, yes.”  
Virgil groaned and buried his face in the front cover of the sketchbook. “Ugh, fine…” He took a deep breath and sat back up straight. “Yeah, I draw quite a bit… and I’m just really not proud of most of it.”  
“Most artists practice harsh critiquing against their own works. But personally, based on what I have seen, I believe you are quite skillful.”  
Virgil made a face. “You honestly thought that was good…?”  
“I did. Is that unusual for you?”  
Virgil shrugged. “I mean, I guess. I don’t show a lot of people. I’m kinda embarrassed about… most of my art.” He shrugged again and began chewing on a thumb nail.  
“You have no reason to be.”  
Virgil shrugged again. “Thanks, I guess. I don’t see it though…” Logan returned to his book and Virgil nervously reopened his sketchbook, heart racing. A few minutes later he noticed Logan glancing over at his picture and his heartbeat jolted. He was still watching?! Why was he still watching?! He could feel his heart beating throughout his whole body and his stomach did a pulling, twisting, yank, and he closed the sketchbook and closed it. Nevermind. He decided to just stare at the floor and let his thoughts overtake him.


	2. I left my voice in the bathroom and my roommate is snuggly???

By the time the bus pulled into the hotel’s parking lot, Virgil was so nauseous he was dizzy from the effort of not throwing up. The second the bus parked and the doors opened, he pushed past the others and ran for the building. Bathroom. He ran into the first one he found and got to a stall just in time to not throw up all over the floor.  
He had no idea how long he was in there, dry-heaving and running water over his face, trying to breathe, but by the time he left the bathroom the lobby was empty except for one of the teachers. “Virgil, there you are. Are you sick? Do you need to be sent home?” He shook his head. “Alright. If you think you might be sick, let one of us know, okay?” He nodded. “Alright. Your roommate took your luggage up for you. You’re in room 317, okay? And your roommate has the key, so you’ll have to knock and have him let you in.”  
He nodded and went to the nearest elevator. On the third floor, he found his room and took a deep, shaky breath before gently knocking. “Yes? Virgil?” He tried to answer but his throat was so messed up from all the dry-heaving that all he managed was a raspy, strained, groaning sound. Oh, shit. He couldn’t talk. He knocked once, hoping Logan understand that he meant yes. After a few long minutes, the door opened and Logan stood in the doorway. “Virgil is your name, correct? That’s how it’s pronounced?” He nodded silently. “Ah. I apologize, I didn’t hear you respond to me. I would have let you in sooner.” Virgil stepped in, closed the door, and tried to answer him. But again, all that came out was a terrible raspy sound. He sighed and shook his head, pointing to his throat. “Ah, you’ve lost your voice.” Virgil nodded in confirmation. “You aren’t sick, are you? If you are, you should be sent home…” He shook his head, feeling his face get hot, and stared at the floor. Logan nodded slowly, then decided to drop the topic and gestured to the far side of the room, walking over and sitting on the bed as he did so. “I left your luggage against the wall.” Virgil nodded, then smirked, hoping Logan took that as a thank you, and went over to his suitcase, dropping his bag on the floor beside it.   
He opened his suitcase and dug out his pajamas, then closed it and slipped into the bathroom. Once he was changed, he tossed his clothes on the floor by his suitcase and went over to the built-in counter, where he found a coffee maker and began fiddling with the buttons, trying to figure out how to run it. Just as he finally got it started and sat on the counter to wait Logan looked up from his book, which he’d apparently gotten back out, and looked at Virgil with a confused expression. “You’re making coffee just before you go to sleep?” Virgil mimed steam and pointed to his throat. “Of course, I apologize. I should have thought of that.” Logan shook his head, seemingly frustrated with himself, and looked back down at his book for a moment before closing it and setting it down with a sigh.   
Virgil looked at him questioningly, hoping he wouldn’t regret this. “I’m simply… tired, I suppose. Not in the physical sense entirely, it’s more of a mental exhaustion, it’s hard to explain.” Virgil waved his hands, then nodded and pointed to himself as he made a sluggish expression. Logan was still for a moment, brows furrowed, so Virgil sighed and pointed to himself then held up two fingers. Logan nodded. “Oh, you understand what I’m trying to say?” Virgil nodded. “Oh…”   
After a silent moment, the coffee maker beeped and Virgil unwrapped one of the cups and filled it, swishing it around in the cup before taking a long drink, not bothering to find any sweetener. He sighed blissfully, coughed a few times, and took another long swig. He watched silently as Logan stood up and walked over to the window on the far side of the room and leaned against it as he stared. He looked bored. Virgil was too exhausted to be bored. He finished his coffee and turned the TV on, settling down on the bed with the remote. He flipped through the channels until he found something remotely interesting.  
After a few minutes, Logan came over and sat on the bed beside him. Immediately Vigil tensed. Too close. But if he got up Logan would think he was being a jerk. Ugh, he was overthinking this. Why was he so nervous around any and all people? Oh, man. He wasn’t moving. Logan probably thought he was uncomfortable, and then that might make Logan uncomfortable, and-  
Logan glanced at Virgil sitting next to him. He was stiff as a board and holding himself tense, blanket clutched in fists on either side of him, staring straight ahead at an area not quite the TV but not quite the wall either. “Virgil? Are you okay?” Virgil flinched and screamed, a raspy nails-on-chalkboard sound, reeling away from him so harshly that he fell straight off the bed with a thud. Logan leaped to his feet and rushed over to help him. “I am so sorry, I hadn’t meant to scare you.” Virgil got up, shirt pulled up over most of his face, and ran to the bathroom, slamming the door behind him.  
Virgil beat his head against the wall for the millionth time, tears still creeping down his face. He had been in there almost an hour, and Logan had tried to talk to him twice. He hadn’t listened. What the hell was wrong with him…? He sighed. He hadn’t heard movement for almost thirty minutes. Maybe Logan had fallen asleep? He took a deep breath, wiped at his eyes in a last-ditch attempt to stop himself from crying, and opened the door slowly. He peaked out of the room. He couldn’t see all of the bed from here, but there was no one sitting on the end of it and the TV was off…   
Slowly he slipped out and crept to the corner. He peaked around it and saw a figure lying still on the bed. He pulled back immediately and sighed. Okay, Logan was sleeping. He was safe. Carefully Virgil stepped out and around to the unoccupied side of the bed. He climbed onto the bed and carefully slipped under the covers, and his leg bumped Logan’s. He froze and very slowly lifted the covers, peaking under. He dropped the blanket like it’d burnt him and had to stifle a scream. This guy doesn’t sleep in pajamas?! He was just wearing underwear! Virgil’s face burned red-hot and he quickly grabbed his pillow and shoved it in front of his chest, in between him and Logan. Okay. He had to breathe. He was gonna be perfectly fine. Logan was asleep anyway. He couldn’t do anything to freak him out while he was asleep.   
Thirty minutes later, Virgil was still lying in the same position, on his side facing Logan. He couldn’t sleep. He just couldn’t calm down. This whole day had been so stressful… He was about to change position when he felt a hand creep under his arm and before he knew what was happening Logan was hugging him, face snuggled into the pillow. He froze, heart racing in his ears and face burning hot. What was going on?! Virgil started breathing heavily, unable to move out of pure terror. It got worse. After a moment, Logan’s sleeping form pulled the pillow out and pulled Virgil against him, pushing a knee in between Virgil’s knees and snuggling his head into Virgil’s, wrapping his arms tighter around him in a purely childish and platonic way, the way a child might snuggle with a parent or an older sibling. Then Logan sighed peacefully and snuggled deeper into Virgil’s shoulder, and Virgil groaned internally. There was no way he was going to wake him up to move him after that adorable sound…  
Virgil rolled over again, groaning quietly. What time was it? He sat up and stretched, popping his back comfortably. He blinked open his eyes and looked around the room blearily. Where was the guy rooming with him? Slowly, he stood up and went over to his suitcase and dug out an outfit. Just as he was standing up, he heard the bathroom door close. “Oh. Virgil, you’re awake. Um, there’s something…”   
Virgil turned to face him, and immediately his outfit dropped to the floor. No. No. No way. His brain froze, trying desperately to comprehend the glowing rainbow covering the insides of Logan’s arms and the palms of his hands. He stuttered incoherently and slowly turned to look at the normally grey mark starting on his forearms. He let out an involuntary shriek and shakily turned back to look at Logan. “N-No way…”


	3. My soulmate discovers I'm broke as shit and we play Mancala

Logan stepped over to him. “Your voice is back.”  
“What?! Okay?! So what?! Oh my gosh…”  
“Virgil?”  
Virgil breathed out a panicked sound. “S-So you’re… We’re… I mean… Oh, hell…”  
Logan’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion. “Do most people not find this discovery pleasant?”  
“No! I mean, I-I don’t… This is too much. I-I can’t… I can’t.” He ran his fingers through his hair and paced a few times. “I’m sorry.” He grabbed his outfit and rushed past Logan to the bathroom, collapsing against the door. “What the hell just…?” He shook his head slowly and forced himself to remember how to get dressed.  
He left the bathroom, leaving his pajamas on the floor, and leaned against the door again. “What just happened…?”  
Logan stepped around the corner to stand in front of him. “We’re soulmates.”  
Virgil let out a sharp breath and found his hands shaking. “Oh, god…”  
Logan looked at him nervously. “Were you… were you hoping for someone with a slightly different personality…?”  
“No, no! It’s not about you, I just…” He took a deep breath. “Oh, man. I didn’t expect… It’s just… really sudden… I mean… I haven’t even thought about finding my person yet…”  
Logan sighed, letting a smile play over his lips. “Thank goodness that’s all. I was… astonished myself. I have shamefully done nothing productive for the past hour I have been awake… I always assumed I never would find my person. And yet… I see I was wrong.”  
“Yeah… Same here… I kinda always just told myself it’d never happen…”  
Logan smiled softly and took a deep breath. “There’s not much time to consider that here if we want to have extra time during breakfast. We have to be out of the hotel by ten.”  
Virgil nodded. “Yeah, lemme throw on some shoes real quick and I’ll be ready.” Virgil dug a pair of socks out of his suitcase and put on his tennis-shoes, then grabbed his bag and went back over to Logan.”Alright.” His voice was still shaking.  
Logan nodded and he was about to open the door when he stopped. “Virgil, are you alright? You seem very tense.”  
Virgil nodded. “Just… I’m not ready. Let’s go.”  
Logan nodded and left the room, and Virgil followed him to the cafeteria on the first floor. There were about eight people in the cafeteria. Logan and Virgil both made their way up to the bar at the other side of the room and made their way through the breakfast choices, which were admittedly pretty good. Even Logan found plenty of options. Once they were done, they were heading towards a table when they heard a familiar voice call out to them. They looked over and saw the two boys from yesterday, Roman and Patton, waving them over. They went over to the table and sat down with them, but before they’d even scooted their chairs in, Roman and Patton both had their fists held forwards, which were glowing rainbow now. Patton squealed. “They went active! We’re actually soulmates! We’re soulmates!” Roman nodded ecstatically.  
Logan nodded. “Congratulations. We actually have similar news.”  
“Oh?” Logan nodded and raised his forearms, showing off the glowing colors, and Virgil turned momentarily to show off the one on his arm, though the rest of his shown dimly through his t-shirt. Patton gasped. “Oh my gosh! This is so cool! I’m so happy for you guys! Oh, how’d you touch?! Actually, those are kinda odd marks, though…” He gasped again as if realizing something. “Oh my gosh, did you two hug?!”   
Both Logan and Virgil’s faces got hot and Logan cleared his throat to regain his composure. “In a way, I suppose… I think…”  
Roman raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean, you think? You don’t know?!”  
“I believe I was asleep when… when we activated our soulmarks.”  
Roman burst out laughing. “Oh, that’s rich! Oh man, tell me you were awake at least!”  
Virgil looked straight down, face red-hot. “So what if I was…?”  
“Oh, man! What happened? Come on, spill it!”  
Virgil glanced sideways ever-so-slightly and saw Logan nervously bouncing one leg. “Shut up.” The three others were all shocked dead silent. “You heard me. Shut up and drop the fucking subject. Okay?!”  
Roman nodded. “Sorry…”  
Virgil took a deep breath and nodded slowly, turning his attention solely to his breakfast and blocking out everything else. A while later Logan called his name, shaking him out of his dissociation. “We’re going to leave. We need to join the other classmates outside.” He nodded and got up with the rest of them. They tossed their trash on the way out and went outside the hotel, where most of the high-schoolers were already gathered.  
It was only a few moments later that the last of the students arrived and the teachers stepped up to lay down the rules. They had to pick four people per group, and those four people would travel together throughout the trip. Each group was assigned a certain list of places they were to visit. There were two places per day for them to visit, and once they were done at those two places they were free to spend the rest of their day however they liked. The school had a temporary card for each of them with enough funding to visit each place on the list. Food and anything else was their own responsibility.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Virgil groaned as he closed the door to the hotel room behind him. “It is completely unfair for one day of walking through museums to make me this sore. Completely not fair.”  
Logan stepped over to where his stuff was in the corner of the room between the bed and the bathroom and slipped off his shoes. “I’ll admit I’m fairly sore too. But in my opinion it was worth it.”  
“You like all this historical stuff?”  
“I do. It fascinates me to think of what lives people may have been living as they stood in this same area years ago.”  
“Hm. I like history okay, I guess. It’s just so repetitive.” Virgil started the coffee maker as he spoke.  
“You’re making coffee again this late?”  
Virgil nodded. “The caffeine doesn’t affect me that strong anymore. I’ve drank coffee too much. It takes at least two big mugs before I start feeling anything.”  
Logan undid his tie and sat down on the edge of the bed. “That seems unfortunate.”  
“Why?”  
“Well, the purpose of drinking coffee is for the effect of the caffeine. So if it does not affect you as strongly…”  
“Oh, naw, half the reason I drink the stuff is just ‘cause I’m addicted. The other half’s for the taste. I honestly don’t don’t drink it for the energy at all anymore.”  
“Oh. Would you mind if I removed my shirt?”  
“What?” His face got a little warm. “Uh, I guess not?”  
Logan nodded, unbuttoned the top three buttons, and slipped it off, then folded it and set it in a small bag beside his suitcase. “Thank you. I am… simply more comfortable without a shirt on.”  
“Weird flex, but okay.”  
“I think it has something to do with the fact that I can better feel the air around me without cloth constricting my sense of touch as much.” He shrugged. “I suppose it’s a feeling of safety.”  
“Weird. Most people feel safer with clothing on.”  
Logan shrugged again, then waited until Virgil had finished pouring his coffee before speaking again. “Do you have any particular passtime in mind?”  
Virgil shrugged. “Really don’t care. I just know I’m bored as hell and I gotta do something.”  
“In that case, I believe I have something that may be of use.” Logan pulled his suitcase onto the bed and began digging through it. After a short moment, he pulled out a box with something rattling inside, like it was full of beads. He opened the end of the box and pulled out a folded wooden shape. “It’s a game called Mancala. I haven’t been able to play it as of yet, since I’ve had no one to play it with, but I know the instructions quite well if you’d like to try it.” Virgil came over to watch as Logan unfolded the wooden thing, revealing glass-looking dragon’s-tears marbles filling the inside.  
Virgil shrugged and sat down on the bed. “Sure. What do you do?”  
Logan explained the instructions and soon they were playing, moving the dragon's-tears marbles around competitively. When they finally finished the game, they were both starving. “Virgil, since you won the game, I will allow you to choose what we should get for dinner, and I will go get it.”  
“Oh, uh…” Virgil’s face went bright red. “I wasn't gonna… you know, eat anything… it’s easier… if I only get lunch. Financially.”  
Logan paused for a moment before something clicked in his head. “Oh, if finances are your problem I’ll pay for the both of us.”  
“Oh, damnit.” Virgil looked away, hiding his burning-hot face in his hands, wishing more than anything he could be anywhere else right now. “I don’t need… I mean, you shouldn’t have to… Ah, shit, I’m sorry. Just, don’t worry about it, I’ll be fine.”  
“Virgil, there is nothing to be embarrassed about. I myself am in similar situations quite often. I am simply better off at the moment because I requested early warnings of any trips so I would have a chance to save up some extra. Nearly half of all U.S. citizens make less than fifteen dollars an hour, which is less than the minimum wage. In simpler terms, nearly half of the people considered U.S. citizens struggle to feed themselves and their families. Your current situation is rather common. So, again, there is absolutely nothing to be embarrassed about.”  
“I just hate having to ask for help for something so ridiculously simple. I mean, I hate asking for help at all…”  
“And you haven’t. I offered. To turn down my help would be rude, would it not?”  
Virgil sighed, peeking out between his fingers. “You’re really okay with that…?”  
“Of course. I’m the one who offered.”  
Virgil sighed again and finally dropped his hands. “I’m sorry…” If this guy had gotten any other roommate he wouldn’t be paying for two meals tonight… Even living alone Virgil still managed to be a burden to everyone else… “I’m sorry...”  
“For what?”  
“I just… feel bad, okay? Just cause I got issues doesn’t mean everyone else has to deal with them too. Or, it shouldn’t… I’m sorry, I’m just being dramatic.”  
“Being embarrassed about not being able to support yourself is a completely natural and expected response. You’re not being overly dramatic in the slightest. Now, what is it we’re having?”  
“Oh, god, don’t make me choose that when you’re paying!”  
“Very well. Would you prefer something store-bought, or…?”  
“I don’t care. Just get whatever you like. I’m honestly cool with anything.”  
Logan nodded slowly. “Is there anything you don’t eat?”  
“No allergies or anything, no.”  
“Alright… This room doesn’t have a microwave, so there isn’t a terribly large amount of store-bought meals… As unhealthy as it may be, are you okay with pizza?”  
“Yeah, yeah! I’m good with whatever. And I like plain cheese fine.”  
For a moment Logan looked confused. Then it clicked. “Oh. Thank you, for considering… I hadn’t even realized you’d remembered.” Virgil shrugged. “Well, I’ll be going.” Virgil waved and Logan nodded once before gabbing the room key and leaving.


	4. I have a mental breakdown and sob on my soulmate's shoulder for thirty minutes except, plot twist, he knows and decides he enjoys my presence anyway

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Quick disclaimer type thing just to make sure there are no misunderstandings, the cuddling/snuggling is completely non-sexual. It is entirely just them being adorably touch-starved

As soon as the door closed Virgil shoved his face into the nearest pillow and screamed. He screamed into the pillow for probably five minutes until he finally pulled away and realized it was wet. He rubbed at his face, frustrated, and only managed to cry even more. He decided to just give in and let himself cry. He was so mortified everything hurt. His chest felt really tight, and his head hurt, and his entire head and neck burned red-hot. His stomach was doing an odd number of back-flips and he felt like smacking himself for some reason. His heart was beating insanely fast, so fast and forceful that his whole chest hurt. What was wrong with him?! Why did he have to fall apart like that in front of someone so pretty?! And apparently, he was generous too! And compassionate, and calm, and forgiving, and sympathetic, and reasonable, and… oh, no. He was perfect. And Virgil had just made an ultimate fool of himself! And here he was still, crying into a hotel pillow as if that were a normal thing to do!  
Virgil put his feet off the edge of the bed and groaned loudly. Suddenly he thought of something. Logan hadn’t put his shirt back on. Virgil’s face got even hotter. Logan still had his shirt off when he left. Damn, the guy was confident in his appearance too! What wasn’t perfect about this guy?!  
And of all people to get stuck with… Virgil sighed. Of all people, Logan had to get stuck with him… Hopefully, he wouldn’t ruin the whole experience for him… Logan seemed pretty excited about this whole thing. And he was here hating the whole thing…  
Virgil had been lying face-down on the bed when he heard the door unlock with a click and shot up to sit on the edge of the bed. The door swung open the second he was sitting upright, and in walked Logan, carrying a large pizza box, and very much still shirtless. Virgil felt his face grow hot again and he stared at the floor, wishing beyond all hope that he could stop thinking about how incredibly generous and just altogether perfect Logan was. It was to no avail. “H-Hi.”  
Logan set the pizza box on the counter and pulled out some paper plates from a drawer, turning to nod once at Virgil. “Hello… Are you well?”  
“What? Y-Yeah, why?”  
“You just seemed upset.”  
“Oh, no! I’m fine! Um… So, uh… Do you go out often? Without a shirt on…? Ah, shit, that’s a weird question. Sorry.”  
Logan looked down and now it was his turn to blush. “Ah, no, that’s fine. Um, I don’t usually, no. I had completely overlooked that.”  
“Oh. Okay…” They both stood awkwardly for a few moments until Logan silently took his pieces and Virgil got up and grabbed the other plate. “Uh, th-thanks. Again.”  
“Of course. I am… quite familiar with your predicament.”  
Virgil nodded and they sat on the bed. When Logan started to eat beside him, however, he froze. There it was. The one thing about this guy that wasn’t perfect. The mouth noises… After a moment, he gave in and moved to sit on the far side of the counter. Logan glanced at him but didn’t say anything. Thank goodness for that, he was afraid he’d just come across as really jerky.  
Once they were both done eating and Virgil had finished putting the extra pizza in the small minifridge for the next day, Virgil nervously sat down on the bed while Logan was getting ready for bed. In a few minutes, Logan emerged from the bathroom and Virgil cleared his throat pointedly.  
Logan glanced over and Virgil opened his mouth to speak but found his breath frozen at the back of his throat. He tried a few times but he couldn’t get a single word out. He took a deep breath and tried again, but he only managed to mouth the words silently. ‘I’m sorry’.  
Logan’s features softened and he smiled gently, and oh my god that smile! Virgil almost flinched as his heart skipped a beat. Wait, had Logan said something? Oh shit, he was spacing out and Logan was trying to talk to him he’s such a jerk! “Virgil? Can you hear me?”  
“I-I’m sorry, I wasn’t-” His breath caught again for a second. His face was so hot it hurt. It hurt to move his face, it hurt to think too much. It was so hot! “I wasn’t trying to ignore you. I just…”  
“That’s quite alright, I assume you were simply distracted. I was merely assuring you that I do not mind funding your meal in the least.”  
Virgil nodded, face getting somehow hotter. Why did he have to word it that way?! His face was so hot his head was starting to throb. “I-” That was all he managed out, and then he rushed over, dug out a pair of pajamas, and rushed into the bathroom, locking the door.  
Logan watched him go, eyebrows furrowing when the door nearly slammed and he heard the click of the lock. He stared. He wished he could understand his roommate’s emotions. He wasn’t proud of his financial status in the slightest, but it seemed Virgil was utterly mortified by his own. Why? He sat on the bed and tried to focus on something else. Sitting and thinking about it wasn’t going to give him any answers.  
Logan got up and slipped his pants off, folding them before setting them neatly with his shirt. He glanced at the bathroom again, then got back on the bed and slipped under the covers.  
He couldn’t fall asleep. He couldn’t stop feeling… bad, in some way. He wished there was something he could have done or something he could do still to help Virgil feel more comfortable admitting he needed help. He couldn’t figure out why Virgil was so embarrassed and hesitant towards accepting assistance.  
Click. He heard the door open slowly. Very slow footsteps. A solid minute of silence. Creak. The bedsprings. A shift in weight on the mattress.  
Logan thought about saying something, but he decided against it. He had just gotten an idea. He had been wondering desperately about Virgil’s reaction ever since he’d heard that he had hugged his roommate in the night. He desperately hoped he hadn’t caused Virgil too much trouble.  
Logan took a deep breath. He hoped Virgil wouldn’t hate him for this...  
He rolled over, carefully wrapping his arms around Virgil’s middle, pulling him towards him ever-so-slightly and as gently as possible. He felt Virgil flinch. He had to force himself not to pull back and to continue to pull Virgil towards him. He slowly did until Virgil’s back was against his front. Then he realized that he wasn’t paying attention to Virgil. He was paying attention to himself. He let out an involuntary sigh and pulled Virgil ever-so-slightly overtop himself.  
Virgil rolled over and hugged him back tightly, trying desperately to hold back tears. He used a foot to pull one of Logan’s legs towards him and wrapped his foot around Logan’s ankle, hugging his shoulders tighter than would be comfortable if Logan were awake. Finally, he buried his face in Logan’s shoulder and duly noted something wet spreading around his eyes.  
Logan had to force himself not to gasp as the wind was knocked out of him and the pressure didn’t release. He felt Virgil wrap his foot around Logan’s ankle and he felt some kind of odd fluttery, swelling sensation in his chest. A smile crept its way over his mouth. And then, thud! Virgil’s face was buried in his bare shoulder and his shoulder was almost immediately wet — Virgil was crying, and not only that, but his face was so hot that it almost made Logan’s own skin hurt. He was about to out himself and ask what was wrong when he heard Virgil chuckle through his tears.  
Logan didn’t understand Virgil’s complex emotions, but that night he realized one very important thing: He wanted to spend the rest of his life trying his hardest to learn how to.


	5. Me and my soulmate decide not to hate each other for last night and then I tell him to shut up and feel really bad about it all day

Virgil moaned peacefully, snuggling his face further into the pillow. “Mm…” Warm. That felt nice. He was warm, but not too warm. Pleasantly warm.  
What time was it? He was hoping it was some time in the middle of the night so he wouldn’t have to move any time soon. Maybe he could even go back to sleep. That was a nice thought.  
Hey, wait! The pillow was moving! He hummed and chased it with his hands, vaguely aware that something about it felt wrong.  
Logan was almost regretting his actions last night because they had made Virgil subconsciously very snuggly. Almost. But not quite. In fact, he found it endearing, to a degree.  
He found it endearing to the point where when Virgil rolled over in his sleep and wrapped around Logan, cuddling into him, he didn’t even think about making him move.  
And now it had been nearly twenty minutes, and Logan was realizing that they would have to get up soon if they wanted sufficient time for breakfast. He sighed and slowly tried to ease out of Virgil’s grip — he was planning on getting dressed first and then waking up Virgil — but Virgil uttered a small, desperate hum and he froze. His heart rate had gone up just slightly and he found himself unable to move despite the small sound, as he definitely would normally have been able to.   
Time was ticking away while he stayed here, hesitating, afraid to wake his roommate. No, his soulmate. He kept forgetting to refer to this man as such. Either way, he had to wake him up… “Virgil?” No response. He sighed and hugged him back with one arm, running a hand up and down his back. “Virgil?”  
Virgil groaned and snuggled in closer. He sighed again. Okay, the gentle approach wasn’t working… But he didn’t want to be rude about it… “Virgil.” He pulled his arm back and shook him lightly. “Virgil.” A small moan. “Virgil.” He shook his shoulder again and Virgil untangled halfway and rolled onto his back. Logan sighed. “Virgil. You need to wake up.”  
Virgil’s eyes fluttered open for a second and Logan was hopeful for only half a second. It was clear he was still asleep. Worse yet, Virgil rolled right back over and tangled himself right back up, legs wrapping around Logan’s, snuggling against Logan once again.  
Logan groaned. “Oh, please! It should not be this hard to…” He sighed, frustrated.  
They had to get up and get ready. They were running out of time. Making his decision, Logan took a deep breath and raised his voice slightly, trying not to sound upset. “Virgil!”  
That was all it took. Virgil groaned loudly and opened his eyes, which immediately shot wide. His head flicked up and he stared up at Logan’s face, which was almost touching his own. Then he screamed, pulling back and untangling himself harshly. He shot backward across the bed and thunk!  
Logan heard a whimper from the other side of the bed, and carefully crawled over to see Virgil sitting on the floor, scooting away from the bed, shaking his head as he stared at Logan in horror. “Virgil… Please remain calm. I hold nothing against you because of this incident. In fact, it may have been my own doing that caused this in the first place.” Virgil hit the opposite wall beside his luggage and looked over at Logan, eyebrows furrowed. “I was awake last night when you got into bed.”   
Virgil’s expression twisted into one of horror. “H-How long were you awake…?”  
“Until roughly forty minutes after you began crying. I… initiated the physical contact consciously…”  
His voice squeaked out almost silent, horrified. “Wh-What?!”  
Logan nodded, looking down ever-so-slightly to avoid eye contact. “Yes. I… admittedly was… extremely curious as to your reaction the first night when I apparently… hugged you in my sleep. And so I pretended to already be asleep and I pretended to be… hugging you unconsciously again. I apologize for… deceiving you in… such a way. I realize it wasn’t terribly considerate…”  
Virgil shook his head slowly, eyes wide and mouth flapping open uselessly with horror. “N-No, I…. N-No… You weren’t… you couldn’t have been… awake…” His eyebrows were pulling together and his hands were fidgeting restlessly.  
“I am excessively sorry, Virgil, but we must get on with this. We don’t have much time to get ready before we are supposed to be meeting our teammates. So to sum up this conversation, yes… I was fully conscious when… you… began crying. And I do not hold your… breakdown, of sorts, against you. In any way.”  
“But… but I… I thought you were asleep… and I just… I completely took advantage of you, and… I completely took advantage of you! I thought you were asleep, I thought you were in a condition where you couldn’t control your own actions and I… used you! You should be pissed at me!”  
“I am not. You were not in the wrong. At least, no more than I myself am in the wrong… I’m realizing how truly inconsiderate and selfish my actions were. And I apologize… I’m honestly, truly ashamed of myself for acting so recklessly.”  
“So… you’re not… you’re not mad at all? You’re not mad at me? I… I used you!”  
“I could say the exact same thing…”  
“So, then…” Virgil slowly started standing up against the wall. “No hard feelings either way?”  
Logan sighed with relief. “Yes. Please. Now if you don’t mind we should get ready quickly. We don’t have much time if we want to meet our teammates for breakfast on time.”  
Virgil nodded numbly and watched as Logan grabbed an outfit from his bag and went into the bathroom. Finally he forced himself to crouch back down and pick out an outfit.  
Once they were both dressed and ready, they went downstairs a few minutes late and saw their teammates talking animatedly by the doors to the cafeteria. “There you two are! Funny thing, Logan was it? Didn’t take you for the non-punctual type.”  
Logan’s face tightened as he clearly held back an angry retort. “Usually… I am… I was… distracted this morning.”  
Roman raised an eyebrow suggestively. “Oh? Distracted by what? Your sooouulmaaate?”  
Virgil’s eyes widened and he screamed. “Oh, shut up!”  
Logan screamed at the exact same time. “What is that supposed to insinuate?! I have no reason to obsess over someone I’ve just met!”  
“Oh, come on! Admit it!”  
Patton sighed and held up a hand before anyone else could speak. “Roman, leave them alone, please. They don’t have to talk if they don’t want to. Right?”  
Roman sighed dramatically. “Fine, fine, right! Can we just go get breakfast?”  
Patton grinned and they went in, filing up to the deserted breakfast bar. Logan filed into line last, right after Patton, who smiled at him as he filled his plate. “Oh, I’m so glad they have good options for you here! I didn’t even think about it yesterday morning but it was bothering me all last night!”  
“Oh. I’m… flattered that you would remember.”  
“Of course I remembered! Oh, speaking of, I’ve been thinking about lunch. Did you have any ideas? Like for what places will have stuff you can eat?”  
“Oh, I wouldn’t worry yourself. I can find options at most places.”  
They followed Virgil and Roman to a table, where they all sat down together. “Really? So you’ve been vegetarian for a while?”  
“I have been vegetarian for as long as I’ve had a choice in the matter. So, yes, most of my life.”  
Roman looked up at him. “And you’re vegetarian because of like the animal cruelty stuff?”  
“Actually, no. I decided to stop eating meat for my health.”  
“But don’t you kinda like… need meat? For a proper diet, or...?”  
“Not in the slightest. There is a large variety of natural foods, namely dark leafy vegetables, that give you the exact same, if not more, nutrients as any meat. In fact, having most meats as a large part of your diet is detrimental to your health. Quite the opposite of what is unfortunately the popular opinion.”  
Roman raised an eyebrow. “Oh? Even like red meats? Like beef and stuff? And where exactly did you learn all this, anyway?”  
“Primarily red meats, yes. And I researched the topic through various textbooks and documentaries.”  
All three of them looked at him, impressed. “Oh… cool. So, uh… care to tell us more, Teach?”  
Logan was momentarily thrown off by the nickname and the snicker it pulled from his roo- no, his soulmate, but he quickly brushed that off in favor of having a chance to enlighten someone who actually wanted to learn more about vegetarianism. “Of course. Where should I start?”  
There were at their first destination, The U.S Holocaust Memorial, more commonly known as just the Holocaust, and Roman was really starting to regret asking for more information. If he’d actually been listening the whole time, he would have been a nutritional expert by now, because they’d already finished breakfast, gotten a bus ride, and gotten halfway through the Memorial and he was still making comments on the topic. Not long after the start of the memorial he’d slowed from a solid stream of information to the occasional comment or fun fact, but Roman still wasn’t sure if he could handle a single other word on the topic.  
Virgil listened to the random list of statistics, nodding respectfully, and looked over at Roman. There was that expression again. That expression halfway between determined and furious, lips pulled into a tight line. It wasn’t obvious from a quick glance, but if you looked too long Roman’s body language started to chant murder. And unfortunately Virgil was pretty sure he knew exactly why. This was unfortunate, of course, because Patton, though seeming occasionally frustrated, nodded happily at every new word, and Roman, staying thoroughly silent, was clearly not going to say anything to him… which meant Virgil had to be the one to tell him… He took a deep breath. How to say this without offending him? He cleared his throat gently but pointedly and lowered his voice to a whisper. “Uh, could I talk to you for a second?”   
He flicked his head and Logan nodded and followed him a few steps away. “Um… I really, really don’t mean for this to come off as rude, so if it does… but, uh… I think we…” Logan looked miserably confused, so Virgil took another deep breath and forced the words out. “I think we’re ready for a subject change. Again, no offence, just…”  
Logan’s expression dropped to a blank poker face, but Virgil could see a hundred different emotions rushing through it. He nodded. “I’m sorry, I hadn’t realized…” He cleared his throat and went back to the other two, Virgil following close behind feeling like a jerk.  
They moved on, and for the rest of the memorial Logan didn’t make a single comment. If he was spoken to directly, he would utter a short reply and move on. But aside from that, not a single sound. It wasn’t until they were deciding where to stop for lunch that he spoke up on his own. Roman and Patton had both suggested the same place — a well-rated, high-end place not far from the memorial. Before Virgil had much time to panic about how to say that he couldn't afford to eat there, Logan spoke up. “I’m afraid I don’t have the budget for such a place.”  
They quickly decided on somewhere cheaper, somewhere thankfully in both Logan and Virgil’s budgets. There wasn’t much conversation during lunch.  
Afterwards, they moved on to the second, and last, destination. Arlington Cemetery. This was actually the one place Virgil was looking forward to. He’d heard a lot of good things about it, and for some reason the pictures he’d looked up online of the place made him feel really peaceful. If only he wasn’t too nervous to enjoy it. But Logan still hadn’t said a word since lunch unless he was directly prompted to, and Virgil couldn’t help but feel like a jerk for telling him to stop talking about something he was so clearly passionate about. He couldn’t stop overanalyzing that expression he’d put on so quickly, and then he’d stopped talking altogether after that? Of course he was upset! Virgil had practically told him to shut up!  
They were on the way back to the hotel, on the bus. Roman had sat down beside Virgil, leaving Patton to sit by Logan and try to make small talk. Mostly it was Patton talking and Logan nodding occasionally, but Patton did ask him about his opinions on many aspects of both the Holocaust Memorial and of Arlington Cemetery and he answered every time.   
Roman tapped Virgil’s arm, causing him to look over, and whispered to him, trying and failing to look unsuspicious. “So, I’m not the only one who’s noticed he’s been really quiet since you talked to him, right?”  
Virgil shook his head. “Nope.”  
“You don’t think we, like… offended him? Getting tired of the rambling?”  
Virgil shrugged. “I don’t know, maybe? I mean, he was really excited.”  
Roman sighed, glancing over nervously. “That’s true… Listen, could you do me a favor?” Virgil raised an eyebrow at him. “Could you just talk to him when we get back? Just because, you know, you’re roomed together, you’re… soulmates. He’d take it better from you. Just make sure he’s okay? I don’t want him to think we don’t care…”  
Virgil nodded. “Yeah. Yeah, that I can do. I was gonna talk to him anyway. I feel like I was a little too rough mentioning it like I did.”  
Roman nodded. “Thanks. Hopefully he’s not actually upset about it. Maybe he’s just really quiet!”  
Virgil scoffed. “Yeah, hopefully…”


	6. We both work and we're still broke as hell?! Wow, what an accomplishment!

When they got back to the hotel the two pairs bid each other goodnight and split up to return to their rooms. Normally when other people left, Virgil was more comfortable, but this time his stomach twisted up with nerves as he watched the others walk off towards their own room. He had to talk to Logan.  
Click. The door opened and they both stepped in, letting it swing closed behind him. Virgil awkwardly stood by the door, trying to think of how to start this conversation without making it awkward or uncomfortable. “Virgil?”  
Virgil flinched, looking over at the voice. “Uh, wh… yeah?”  
Logan made an odd face. “Are you alright? I know I haven't had the time to get to know you quite well enough for an assumption so bold, but… you seem to be acting… upset, in some way…”  
Virgil sucked in a breath, his mind and heart both racing. “Uh, y-yeah. I guess… Um…” He took a deep breath, closing his eyes for a moment as he let it out. “Well, it’s…” He tried to step over and sit on the counter, to calm himself down and make the whole thing feel more casual, but his nerves glued his feet to the floor right where he stood. “Just, about… earlier… Roman was worried too, just… since I, uh… pulled you aside at the Holocaust? You’ve been… really, really quiet, and kinda distant, and…” He took yet another deep breath. Why did confrontations like this make him so overwhelmingly nervous?! “I… I shouldn’t have… I shouldn’t have stopped you like that. You were just excited about it, and that’s perfectly fine! I mean, everyone’s got something they’re really passionate about, and hey! Health is a pretty good thing to be passionate about! Honestly, it really was interesting! I definitely learned a lot, so… I…” He mouthed the start of a few different words, hesitated… “I…” Hesitated some more… “I’m really sorry. A-And Roman too. He didn’t say exactly the words, but I know he’s sorry too. We both are, for getting fed up with it. You were excited about it, and he did ask, so… It was crossing the line for me to tell you to stop. I really didn’t think about how it’d come across, I didn’t mean to offend you, or hurt feelings, or… Sorry.”  
For a moment Logan was silent, looking shocked. Then he took a single step closer to Virgil and all of a sudden seemed nervous himself. “I appreciate the concern. But I wasn’t offended by your comment at all… I haven’t… It’s been… a while, since I’ve interacted with many people… So, I’m not very good at gauging other’s emotions. If I had been paying more attention, I would have noticed earlier that I was overdoing it… So, I’m grateful, actually, that you mentioned it. But I will admit that when you did, I was… embarrassed. And ashamed of myself. For not realizing that on my own… Again, it’s been… too long since I’ve had human interaction. Or any interaction, for that matter. I’m… learning what is and isn’t acceptable.” He was staring at the floor, arms stiff at his sides.  
Virgil didn’t know what to say to that. He wasn’t expecting anything like that. He’d thought Logan was angry or something, not… this. And what exactly did a while and too long mean? Wait a second… last night he’d mentioned that he was in Virgil’s predicament, and then mentioning his own budget for lunch earlier… So he clearly had budget issues, which seemed like something that’s more of a problem with younger people who live alone rather than with families, but that doesn’t really mean anything by itself. But… If he just said he hadn’t been around other people for a while… did that mean…? Did Logan…?  
The person in question spoke up right then, interrupting his train of thought. “Although, that isn’t the main reason I’ve been particularly quiet. I’ve been thinking.”  
“Oh?”  
“I’ve had something on my mind today. I’ve been considering the benefits of a particularly drastic change I may consider making. Depending.”  
Virgil nodded. “Uh, care to… elaborate?”  
Logan was quiet for a long moment. “I’d like to think about this more before I say anything. But I do plan to tell you more if I decide this is a… probable change. I will probably be thinking about this a lot tomorrow as well, so if I’m quiet again it’s nothing to worry about.”  
“Okay.” Virgil nodded. “Cool. Is this like a good kinda change?”  
“Possibly…”  
Virgil nodded again. “’Kay. I won’t bother you about it.” He cracked a quick smile and stepped around him to the counter to start the coffee maker. While he waited, he went over to his bag and pulled out his sketchbook and pencil set, and then he went back and sat criss-cross on the counter and opened the sketchbook to the mostly-finished drawing he had been working on on the bus the first day. He would just finish this one, and then he would move on to a client’s drawing. There were a few he had to mail out the day he got back.  
“Oh, is that the same drawing you were working on Monday?”   
Virgil nodded. “Yeah. This one’s just for fun, but when I’m done the next thing I draw’s gotta stay private, so… no watching.”  
Logan nodded. “Of course. This may not be the most appropriate thing to ask, but do you live alone, Virgil?”  
Virgil looked up from his drawing. “Uh… y-yeah, actually. I… I do… Um… y-you?”  
Logan nodded, and Virgil felt momentarily proud of himself. He knew it! But nerves quickly overtook that. Would he think of him differently knowing he lived alone so young? “I’ve been meaning to ask you, Virgil. Are your artworks your means of finance?”  
He blinked at that question. How on earth did he know that?! “Y-Yeah. I sell drawings. I wrote poetry too. Sometimes. For people. And sometimes I write songs and sell them.”  
Logan nodded. “That’s an impressive variety of talents. You’re creative then.”  
He shrugged and grabbed his coffee cup. “So I’ve been told… Uh, do you mind me asking what you do?”  
“Not at all. I occasionally write short stories or novellas, but the majority of my income comes from photography.”  
Virgil nodded. “Nice. Photography.” He took a long drink of his coffee and continued sketching, switching pencils every so often.  
He was working on the base of one of his client’s pictures when Logan got his attention with a tilt of his head and pulled the leftovers out of the minifridge. “If you don’t mind cold, will you be stopping to eat now or should I put yours back?”  
“Uh…” He glanced at the page, then shrugged and closed the book. “Yeah, I need a break.” He set the sketchbook and pencils on the counter beside and hopped off. “By the way, if you’re a photographer and such, shouldn’t you have brought your camera?”  
Logan sighed and his face grew dark. “Yes. I should have. And I’d meant to…”  
“You forgot it?”  
Logan nodded, clearly ashamed of himself. “It was an excellent opportunity...”  
Virgil shrugged as he grabbed a paper plate from the night before. “Well, it happens to everyone.”  
When Virgil had finished he slid the empty box against the wall beside the trash can and then got back to work on the drawing. He glanced up partway through to see that Logan was reading something. Not the same book he had been reading on the bus on Monday though.  
Virgil finished the picture and then fully drew one more before changing into pajamas and going to sleep. He knew it was still early, Logan hadn’t gone to bed yet and he could hear someone in the room next to theirs talking, but he was exhausted, and he didn’t care what time it was.


	7. Virgil and Logan have never been given a celebratory dinner before and Roman doesn't understand why fancy makes them uncomfortable

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this one's extra short, but I felt like this works best as its own chapter.

Surprisingly, the next day went almost completely uneventful. Almost, because once they were done at their second destination for the day Roman announced that he wanted to take the four of them to dinner.  
Virgil shifted uncomfortably. “You know how expensive that gets with this many people, right…?”  
Roman rolled his eyes and waved a hand impatiently. “Oh, hush! Trust me, I’ve got it! Come on guys! And, uh… Logan? Right?” Logan nodded. “Yeah, I know how this looks, since you made that comment yesterday, you know, at lunch… But! I promise you it’s not about that at all! I promise! I just thought we should do something fun together! Before we go back home, you know? What do you say, guys? Dinner?"  
Patton nodded, grinning over at the other two questioningly. Virgil and Logan glanced at each other uncomfortably. Logan looked at Roman hesitantly. "And this isn't a… loan type of scenario?"  
"No! No way, nothing like that! I expect absolutely nothing from any of you in return. I just wanna treat my new friends! No expectations, 'kay? I am doing this because I personally wanna celebrate with you guys! So I guess you could say I'm doing it for myself. I couldn't expect any form of payment for something I myself want, right? So…?"  
Logan glanced over at Virgil again, then looked down at the floor, face flushing ever-so-slightly. "Well, in that case… You're the first to offer something quite like this to me, and I admit I'm quite flattered, if not just… perplexed."  
Roman and Patton gasped in sync. "No one's ever bought you a celebratory dinner before?!"  
Logan blinked, new shock evident on his face. "N-No?"  
Virgil cleared his throat. "Hey, leave him alone about it. I haven't had any… friend buy me dinner before either, so…" He shrugged.   
Roman clutched a hand dramatically to his chest. "Oh, you poor abused creatures! I am changing that right now! Come on, I know just the place, you'll love it!"  
When they got there, Virgil was immediately uncomfortable. Everything looked so… expensive, and breakable, and foreign… What would he do if he accidentally broke something here?! The carpet alone probably cost a fortune! He took a deep, panicked breath and glanced over to see Logan looking almost as nervous as he'd been on the ride here, which was a lot. He wanted so bad to say something, but there was no way he was going to complain about the place when this guy already wanted to buy them an entire dinner. He'd be fine.   
"Uh, you guys okay? Not feeling the joint? Wanna go somewhere else?"  
Virgil wanted to nod, but he found himself frozen. Thankfully Logan actually did nod. "If you had another place in mind and it wouldn't be too much trouble, that would be appreciated."  
Roman nodded and ushered them back out the doors before someone could try to seat them. "Of course! Not an Italian kinda guy?"  
"Not a…" Logan gestured vaguely at the restaurant, at a loss for words.   
Virgil sighed. "Fancy. It's… way too fancy… "  
Roman nodded, though you could easily tell by his expression that he didn’t understand it. “Oh. Of course! I’ve got another great place in mind! Just you wait! I promise it won’t be nearly as elegant as this one!”  
He really meant that. The place they went to next was nice, very nice, but it was not elegant. It had rough, hardwood floors and huge wooden barrels in every corner. The entire place gave off a very old, country aesthetic. It was definitely the opposite of fancy. It was a classic, rustic country eatery. Roman grinned at them as they went inside. “Eh? Better?”  
Logan nodded, he and Virgil staring at the decorations. There was a small yet uncontrollable smile on Logan’s face. “Y-Yes, much. Again, thank you for this.”  
Roman opened his mouth to respond but was interrupted by a waiter. “Four?”  
He turned to the waiter and nodded. “Yup. Four.”  
They were all seated and a slightly awkward silence hung over the table as Virgil and Logan stared in horror at the prices labeled beside each meal. Virgil looked up, shoulders hunched on instinct. “You’re… you’re really sure you’re okay with… this?” He gestured to the menu.  
Roman immediately looked confused. “Okay with… what exactly?”  
Virgil glanced around nervously and lowered his voice to a whisper. “The… I mean, did you see these prices?”  
Understanding blossomed over his face and he waved a hand dismissively. “Oh, this is nothing, I assure you! If I wasn’t willing to pay what they charge here, believe me, I would have brought us somewhere else. I swear it, upon my very life, that were I not comfortable doing this I would not have offered. So, please-” he gestured to the menus they all held “-don’t pay any attention to things like that. Tonight is about celebrating! Which means no one here is going to worry about little things like prices, alright? Just get what you want! You got that? All three of you?” He looked around at them in a faux accusatory manner and they all nodded, Virgil and Logan looking almost embarrassed at being told off, even in a non-serious context. “Hey, I mean it. I just want everyone to have fun.” Before anyone could respond, a waitress came up and asked for their drinks and moved on.  
Virgil spent a significant amount of time not actually picking anything and instead fretting over whether or not whatever he chose would end up being too expensive despite what Roman had said. But finally, he glanced over at Logan, thought a few moments longer, and decided.  
Despite how nervous he was at the prospect, no one mentioned the fact that he’d specifically ordered his meal with the chicken left off. He’d never done that before, but he’d been thinking a lot about everything Logan had told them yesterday. He wasn’t sure about going all the way, but he figured he could at least try it, if it really was better for you. If he didn’t like it he could always go back.  
After dinner, they went back to the hotel, where they hung out in the lobby, chatting idly, for a half-hour before splitting up and going and to their rooms. Back in their room, Virgil got his notebook out and continued working on sketches until he couldn’t keep his eyes open, at which time Logan had long since fallen asleep.  
He’d only been laying down for a few minutes when a very much still-asleep Logan rolled over, muttering something about being scared, and wrapped his arms around Virgil, pulling them together and burying his face in his chest. He had his head sideways, ear pressed against Virgil’s chest like a child does to hear a heartbeat, and this time, Virgil couldn’t find it in himself to mind.


End file.
